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AbstractBioVision 2016: Biotech promotion in KoreaHyeon et al., Biotechnol. J. 2008, 3, 590–599Bio‐Vision 2016, the Second Framework Plan for Biotechnology Promotion, was established to enable Korea to lead the international trend of biotechnology in the 21st century. The plan is aimed at strengthening the core infrastructure necessary to develop and commercialize world‐class original technologies, founded on the research basis established in the First Framework Plan for Biotechnology Promotion (Biotech 2000). In 2006, the Second Framework Plan for Biotechnology Promotion (Bio‐Vision 2016) was established and its actions are reviewed in this Biotech Highlight Article contributed by biotech policy‐makers from various Korean institutes. http://www.bioin.or.krhttp://www.bioin.or.krMicrobial genome projects in KoreaJeong et al., Biotechnol. J. 2008, 3, 600–610 Hundreds of microbial genomes have been decoded during the last decade. With the introduction of cost‐effective sequencing technologies with much higher throughput and faster computers that can handle large amounts of data, sequencing targets become community wide or individual. Here, researchers from the group of Jihyun F. Kim at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) overview the microbial genome projects that have been completed or are in progress in Korea. To promote systems and synthetic microbiology in Korea by providing information on microbial genomes and analysis tools as well as specialized databases and integrated analysis of multi‐omics data, an integrated database system and a web portal referred to as Genome Encyclopedia of Microbes has been established.http://www.kribb.re.krhttp://www.kribb.re.krCell engineering for biotherapeutics in KoreaMohan et al., Biotechnol. J. 2008, 3, 623–629Recombinant glycoprotein therapeutics have proven to be invaluable pharmaceuticals for the treatment of various diseases. Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are widely used in industry for the production of these proteins. Several strategies for engineering CHO cells for improved protein production have been tried with considerable results. The focus has mainly been to increase the specific productivity and to extend the culture longevity by preventing programmed cell death. These CHO cell engineering strategies, particularly those developed in Korea, are reviewed in this article from the laboratory of Gyun Min Lee (Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejon, Korea). http://bs.kaist.ac.kr/∼acelab/http://bs.kaist.ac.kr/∼acelab/